Cruel Intentions
by PeZ-yUaN
Summary: My only love sprung from my only hate..." Two bitter enemies find the purest love they will ever need to know in each other...but a lethal plot, hidden behind the love, threatens to destroy everything. HPOC
1. Author's Notes Poster's Notes

Authors' Notes/Poster's Notes:  
  
This is the very first fanfiction we've ever posted on a public website like this, so please be kind. So far we have only allowed it to be listed in fiction sites by our friends and we have gotten some kind reviews.  
  
So please read and review this fanfic of ours. We would also like to inform you that there are actually two versions of Kristalyn - her as Kristalyn Riddle (meaning sort of evil and in Slytherin, following her father) and her as Kristalyn Dumbledore (as a Gryffindor, a good friend of Harry's and also following in her grandfather's footsteps).  
  
The fanfic you are about to read is about Kristalyn Riddle. Please be kind as we are still moderately new in the Harry Potter fanfiction game and we are still working on improvement.  
  
Another thing - we know that this sort of thing has been done before, but please, if you see any resemblance of the story to one of your own or something you have read before, it is purely coincidental. We have not had much time to read many fanfics, as we were very busy working on our own, so please don't flame us or accuse us of plagiarizing, for we honestly don't know if what we have written has been written by someone else.  
  
But if such a thing happens, we are honestly and truly sorry - we didn't mean to do anything of the sort.  
  
OK, sorry for blabbering on and on here. Thank you for your time!  
  
Happy reading! And please review - we also welcome feedback too!  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Annie & Kat  
  
P.S. This story is set in the seventh year and rated R for language and certain adult situations.  
  
Poster's Notes: I DIDN'T CREATE THIS STORY! I wanted to post this on Fanfiction.net I HAVE received permission to post it on fanfiction.net so don't flame me! The real creators of the story are Annie & Kat. Now when I need to say something I will use P/N. Enjoy! 


	2. Daddy Commands I Must Obey

Disclaimer: We don't own anything connected to Harry Potter - they all belong to the wonderful JK Rowling. The only thing we do own is Kristalyn Riddle aka Kristalyn Dumbledore (in some stories).  
  
The late October's freezing winds had come and blew fiercely through the many long, dark passageways of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Students moved from classroom to classroom in thick clusters to keep warm, pulling their ebony black school robes tighter around their bodies. Down in the dungeons it was especially chilly and the twenty or so students in Professor Severus Snape's Potions class huddled closer to their cauldrons, which rested on top of roaring blue flames. In a far corner of the dungeon, right at the back, stood a slim, willowy young girl with silvery hair that fell to her waist like a shimmering moonlit waterfall and icy blue eyes that sparkled in her fair, flawless face like a pair of crystal shards. A shiny silver badge pinned to her school robes just above her house insignia read Head Girl, the highest position of authority a student could get at Hogwarts, and the words gleamed a bold black under the faint light that glowed from the candles floating in the air above her cauldron.  
  
The class was in its usual before-lesson chatter as the students waited for the teacher to arrive, but soon-to-be seventeen-year-old Kristalyn Riddle did not join in - instead, as she rested a smooth cheek against a propped up hand, her eyes flicked over to the trio of students standing not too far away from her table. The leader of the three was a tall, lean teenager with a shock of unruly jet-black hair and bright emerald green eyes that twinkled beneath a pair of round wire-rimmed spectacles. Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived - and also Kristalyn's worst nemesis; she despised the boy with a force that almost terrified her, him and that irritating little sidekick of his, Ronald Weasley, of the fiery red hair and tattered hand-me- down robes. And then there was that insufferable know-it-all, Hermione Granger, the only girl of the trio, the smartest girl but one in their year. Bushy-haired, brown-eyed and Muggle-born, she was another thorn in Kristalyn's side - she had almost as much knowledge of the magical world as Kristalyn and she was always eager to show off all that she knew in every class she took. Kristalyn loathed her with every fibre of her being, just as much as she loathed Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.  
  
Of course, Kristalyn wouldn't have minded Harry Potter and his two cronies so much if they had just kept their distance and stayed out of other people's business - but they simply *had* to stick their noses into everything, and soon Kristalyn no longer just disliked them; she grew to hate them so much it was practically painful to look at them without the urge to whip out her wand and hex them good. To make matters worse, during the summer, Kristalyn discovered that she would have to work with Harry for her last year of school - to her utter mortification, Harry had been made Head Boy, which meant cooperation between the two of them was an absolute necessity. Kristalyn was about to ready to curse both Harry and the entire Hogwarts school faculty to death when she found that out.  
  
Sighing, she turned her attention to the large, leather-bound textbook in front of her - Magical Drafts and Potions, it was called - and absently flipped through the pages. Oh, how bored she was in this school! If only she was able to escape the ever-watchful eye of that horrid old Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, and run away to where she had received word that her father was in hiding. She knew her father would welcome her with open arms - she couldn't help the fact that as his only child, she was the apple of his eye, just as he couldn't help pampering her.  
  
She smothered an amused chuckle - no one knew how incredibly devoted her father was to her, because in public, the two of them would always disguise their familiarity beneath stone masks of formality and distance. As the greatest dark wizard in over a century, feared by many in the magical community, her father, Tom Riddle a.k.a. Lord Voldemort, had a reputation to maintain among both his followers and enemies, and so any shows of affection, be it fatherly or daughterly, were strictly forbidden in the presence of others. That was why to everyone else, Kristalyn and her father shared a very cold and aloof relationship, though nothing could be farther from the truth.  
  
It was her father who had taught her everything there was to know about the Dark Arts. As a result, Kristalyn knew more about dark magic than everyone in the Ministry of Magic combined and was vastly knowledgeable in the matters of dangerous hexes and curses, many of which were fatal. Of course, she never actually had the chance to execute any of them, as she was constantly under heavy watch - hardly anyone in the school faculty trusted her *not* to perform any perilous spells - but her father had assured her that her chance would come one day.  
  
One day, my dear Kristalyn (he had told her in a letter once), everything will go exactly as I have planned and I will once again reign supreme power as the greatest wizard in history. My name may be feared now, but when I gain control of the world, it will no longer just be a word no one dares to mention. It will be a curse, a curse never to be mentioned, for even the very softest whisper of it will strike stark terror in the hearts of all who hear it. I will build a new nation, a nation where no witch or wizard need ever to yield to the Muggles, a nation where magic is to be used out in the open, without fear of discovery, and a nation where magic will only be taught to those born of pureblood descent; not Mudblood, nor even half- blood. I will rid both Hogwarts and the world of all that filth, all those who are not deserving to learn the wondrous powers of the magical community.all that Muggle trash.  
  
And when that happens, Kristalyn, it will finally be your time to shine. You will serve as my heir, my successor; you will continue my reign of power when I am gone, as will your descendants. Muggles and wizards alike will be at your feet; they will submit to your every command, your every will. You will have a free hand, a free reign, to perform all the magic spells, curses, hexes, jinxes and charms you like. No longer will you have to suffer under the unmoving gaze of that Mudblood lover, Albus Dumbledore, and no longer will you have him to interfere in your life. When I am in power, you will have him under YOUR hand, YOUR rule, YOUR command. You will no longer have him as your superior, but as your lackey instead.  
  
Have patience, my dearest child, for in the end, it will all be worthwhile. Trust me.  
  
Kristalyn smiled slightly at the memory of reading that letter. Her trust and faith in her father had never once wavered - she believed in Lord Voldemort's ability to regain the power and control he once had over the world sixteen years ago. In fact, she knew it wasn't going to be long before her father would start to put his plan into action, a plan that had taken more than two and a half years to plot and prepare. Her father's followers, the Death Eaters, were ready to strike at his command and there was a great army of destruction already trained to destroy the old ruling of the Ministry of Magic.  
  
At that moment, she was snapped out of her reverie by the arrival of the Potions master and her favourite teacher at Hogwarts, Professor Snape. Snape was, in fact, the *only* teacher Kristalyn liked - he was the only staff member who she reckoned had his priorities sorted in the proper order.*and* he never put her under close scrutiny like the other teachers in the school. Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she pulled out a roll of parchment, her inkbottle and a quill from her schoolbag and started to copy down the notes Snape was scribbling on the blackboard about Wulfsige Brew.  
  
Five minutes later, Snape called the class to attention by clapping his hands and told them to put down their quills - he never allowed his students to spend much time copying down notes because he knew that if he left them like that for a period of time, they would start to talk amongst themselves. It was a quality Kristalyn admired in Snape, for she was a lover of silence herself and abhorred noises of any sort - they deterred her from concentrating on her work.  
  
When all eyes were on Snape, the tall, sallow-faced professor folded his arms over his chest and fixed his students with his cold black stare. "Wulfsige Brew," he said in his usual low whisper of a voice, but everyone could hear him very clearly. "The potion we will be spending the next week making, just in case you haven't picked up on that. Can anyone tell me what it can do for a person who drinks it?"  
  
As she did in every single class, Hermione Granger raised her hand high into the air, practically tottering at the edge of her seat, but as always, Snape ignored her and nodded at Kristalyn, who had also raised her hand, though nowhere near as high as Hermione's. Kristalyn hardly called attention to herself during class but she did occasionally answer some of the questions teachers threw at the class, sometimes just to earn a few extra points for her house, but often only to annoy Hermione, who didn't like to be reminded that she was not the only smart witch in her year.  
  
"Yes, Miss Dumbledore?" said Snape.  
  
Refraining from smirking at the disappointed look on Hermione's face, Kristalyn answered, "The Wulfsige Brew enables its drinker to triumph in battles and wars. Its name, which means Victorious Wolf in ancient English, was aptly given for the drinker of a Wulfsige Brew gains all the qualities of a wolf - its powerful strength, its swift movements, its quick mind - that are a great help in the plotting of combat strategies. The Wulfsige Brew need not necessarily be used for battle, however, and can just be taken as an aid to increase one's mental and physical assets."  
  
"Eloquently put, Miss Dumbledore," said Snape with a small smile. "Thirty points for Slytherin."  
  
A corner of Kristalyn's mouth curved upwards - she had showed up that Hermione Granger, all right. She snuck a glimpse at the bushy-haired girl out of the corner of her eye. There was a flabbergasted expression on Hermione's face - it was obvious that there were one or two things in Kristalyn's reply of which that even she did not know. Kristalyn rested her elbows on the table, satisfied that she had not only one-upped Hermione Granger but had also earned her house a good thirty points.  
  
Pansy Parkinson, a fellow Slytherin with thick shoulder-length brown hair and greenish-grey eyes, glanced over her shoulder from her seat in the front row and winked at Kristalyn. Like Kristalyn and the rest of Slytherin house, Pansy despised Harry, Hermione and Ron, and always enjoyed watching a Slytherin put one over them. However, Pansy was not exactly a friend of Kristalyn's, though she fancied herself to be, much to Kristalyn's disgust. To Kristalyn, Pansy was nothing but the Slytherin Slut - back in their third year, Pansy had lost her virginity to the then Quidditch captain, Marcus Flint, and had gone around for months afterward bragging about it. Pansy led an extremely colourful life and had laid just about every single guy in Slytherin, including many of the younger ones, and Kristalyn found that rather cheap of her. Although no angel herself, Kristalyn did have some strong principles about sex and had no intention of sleeping with anybody just yet. Her firm vow of chastity drove both boys and men wild with desire for her - here was a fully developed young woman, with gorgeous facial features, a body that women would kill for, a tight ass, legs that went on forever.*and she was still a virgin!* Guys would do anything just for a piece of her, even go to extremes just to please her, but no matter how much they did for her, no matter how much they charmed her, wooed her, praised her and worshipped her, Kristalyn could not care less - she was not about to give up her virginity to just anybody. In fact, she was perfectly satisfied to remain celibate and untouched for the rest of her life.  
  
This was because Kristalyn did not believe in either love or lust. To her, romantic love was nothing but a cliché; it was the same thing with lust. In her opinion, lust was merely desire gone out of control and as for love.what a laugh! Love was simply a state of mind in which one person becomes hopelessly infatuated with another. As far as Kristalyn was concerned, there was no such thing as love - oh sure, there was lust in the world, she saw it in all of the guys' faces every time they looked at her. But love.love was pathetic. Even the Malfoys, the family that Kristalyn stayed with during the summer holidays, were not the loving family they seemed in public. There was nothing but screaming and shouting in that huge stone manor - Lucius Malfoy and his wife Narcissa despised one another. Their only son, Draco, who was another Slytherin seventh-year and the only person whom Kristalyn regarded as a friend, always tried to stay out of the line of fire, as did Kristalyn when she went to stay with the Malfoys, for not a day went by without Draco's parents exploding at one another. In fact, the only time things were peaceful was when the Malfoys were locked in their bedroom. Even then, there was still screaming.just of a different kind.  
  
Recalling the last time she was at the Malfoys', Kristalyn couldn't help snorting - it was a week before school was to start and Kristalyn had been in her guest room, getting ready to leave Malfoy Manor for her annual week- long stay in London. There were no deafening insults, no ear-piercing swearing, no thunderous curses coming from the master bedroom. However, Kristalyn's sharp ears had caught the muffled cries of ecstasy and stifled moans of pleasure, as well as the continuous creaking of the bed, which meant only one thing - Mr and Mrs Malfoy were in a temporary truce.and by the sound of it, they had obviously been making the most of that truce of theirs.  
  
Love, Kristalyn thought sardonically as she started to shred several thick knots of Spanish needle grass into her cauldron. What a simpleton idea. Only a fool is dumb enough to fall in love. She stirred the grass a little, watching it melt into a watery mixture, and then added a sprinkle of pounded centipedes. If falling in love and getting married only means getting yourself stuck with some deadbeat loser who does nothing but scream and shout and order you around a few years down the road, then count me out! I'll never fall in love.not in a million years.  
  
* * * * *  
  
A collective gasp of admiration and desire broke out from the crowd like a blowing breeze. Harry Potter glanced up from his plate of roast beef and potatoes at the sound and caught sight of the reason - the Head Girl had just strolled through the doors of the Great Hall, where the Hogwarts students had their meals and did their homework in the afternoon. Harry had to refrain from staring at her himself, though it was extremely hard to do. She looked as beautiful as she always did, with her hair shining like moonbeams under the candlelight without a strand out of place and her clothes as neat and impeccable as they were in the morning. She walked with such ease and grace that it looked as though she was almost floating, her head held high with confidence and her refined posture becoming for her height of almost six feet one. Her expression was the same, though - as serious and reserved as ever, her eyes the same icy, unfeeling blue in her face of smooth skin the colour of the whitest of white snow.  
  
As she sat down in her usual place at the Slytherin table, Harry saw her billow out her robes behind her and noticed that the grey skirt of her uniform had ridden up slightly, revealing enough leg to make his hormones go into major overdrive. Harry tore his gaze away from Kristalyn Riddle, trying to control his longing for her, and forced himself to look back at his food. Why, oh why, did he *always* allow himself to be taken in by Kristalyn's beauty? And why in nine hells did he *always* feel that jolt of electricity shoot up his spine every time he looked at her? Kristalyn Riddle was his enemy, the daughter of the man who had murdered his parents and tried to murder *him*; Kristalyn Riddle was his worst nightmare, the bane of his life, a plague that haunted him night and day; she was nothing but a pain in the ass, a stone in his shoe.  
  
So why was he always thinking about her, dreaming about her, wishing she was his and his alone? Was it really that easy for him to forget all the ugliness, the hostility, the hatred between them? Harry felt like ripping his brains out - oh, he loathed Kristalyn all right, loathed her with every inch of his soul. There was nothing about Kristalyn that he didn't truly despise.and yet, simultaneously, there was nothing about Kristalyn that he didn't truly admire, either. Oh sure, yes, she got on Harry's nerves twenty- four hours a day, seven days a week, and Harry had lost count of the number of times he had so desperately wanted to wring her neck or curse her so badly until she begged for mercy.  
  
But still, her confidence, her determination, her diligence, her brilliant mind, her constantly serious demeanour.Harry had to admit that no matter how much he hated her, no matter how much they fight, no matter how much she annoyed him, he couldn't deny that there were a few good qualities in her. He knew, of course, she didn't think of him in the same way - there was nothing about him she liked - and Harry couldn't give a damn, but he would be lying to himself if he insisted that Kristalyn was nothing but a selfish, arrogant, pampered pureblood witch.  
  
"Harry?" a quiet voice suddenly whispered into his ear.  
  
Harry almost jumped out of his skin - whoa, was that a shock! Trying to control his rapidly beating heart, he turned to his left and saw Ginny Weasley sitting beside him, her bright blue eyes wide with care and concern under her flaming red hair, which was exactly the same shade as that of her brother, Ron's, hair. In fact, the Weasley family - all nine of them - had the same red hair, same twinkling blue eyes and some of them even had the same smattering of freckles across their noses.  
  
As he gazed into Ginny's face, which had matured from plain to pretty, Harry felt his desire for Kristalyn drain away and he wanted to kick himself. How could he have possibly wanted Kristalyn when he already had the most loving, devoted girlfriend any guy could ever ask for? He had always known how much Ginny loved him - he had been her first and only major crush - and when he responded to her love two years ago, during his fifth year, she had been in the seventh heaven of delight. Since that memorable day, they were almost inseparable, and Ginny was a great source of support and comfort for Harry. Even Ron had approved of their relationship, although he did give Harry the typical big-brother speech - the "If you ever hurt her or break her heart, you're toast" kind of speech.  
  
"Harry?" repeated Ginny. "Are you okay?"  
  
Harry smiled back at her and slowly traced a finger down the curve of her cheek. "I've never been better," he told her. "Your timing has never been more perfect." Lowering his voice and leaning closer to her, he murmured, "You don't know how much I missed you, Virginia Weasley."  
  
Ginny shivered delightedly - she loved it every time Harry had that particular catch in his voice.  
  
"You just saw me this afternoon during lunch," she reminded him weakly.  
  
"Well, it's been like eternity since then," said Harry, nuzzling her earlobe. He grinned cheekily at her and pushed his plate away. "You know what? Suddenly I don't feel very hungry. What say you and I find someplace more private and, you know."  
  
He let his voice trail off meaningfully.  
  
Ginny wasn't proof against those dazzlingly green eyes of his. "All right," she replied, giggling.  
  
Harry's grin broadened. He rose from the Gryffindor table and then, lacing his fingers through his girlfriend's, he pulled her away from the table. Hand-in-hand and laughing like a typical pair of lovebirds, they ran from the Great Hall, much to the amusement of the other Gryffindors.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Someone else had watched Harry and Ginny leave the Great Hall, but it certainly wasn't with amusement. As a matter of fact, Kristalyn was downright disgusted - now she had another thing to add to the list of the reasons why she hated Harry Potter with all her heart and soul. Twiddling her fork in her hand, she kept her gaze on the back of Harry's head until he had disappeared out of sight and then she turned back to her plate of food, which had barely been touched. She looked at the slice of roast beef and suddenly felt very queasy - seeing Harry behave like a lovesick puppy- dog was enough to make her completely lose her appetite. Groaning inwardly, she pushed the plate to one side and took a long swallow of pumpkin juice.  
  
"Nauseating, wasn't it?" remarked a lazy, familiar drawl.  
  
Kristalyn glanced over her shoulder and managed a tiny smile as Draco Malfoy settled himself on the seat next to hers. "Incredibly," she agreed, taking another swig of juice. "I cannot see why Dumbledore chose him over you for Head Boy. I mean, I knew the old man was stupid, but to have absolutely no sense and a bad judgment of character just puts him at the top of my list for Top Ten Idiots of the Century."  
  
Draco shook his head. "You know, I still can't believe you and that old man are *related*."  
  
"Neither can I," said Kristalyn, "but what can I do about it? My mother was his daughter."  
  
"You're not one bit like Dumbledore," commented Draco, shaking his head again.  
  
"You can bet on that," said Kristalyn. "I'd never have chosen Potter for Head Boy."  
  
Draco shrugged as he pulled Kristalyn's plate towards him. "Dumbledore probably just picked Potter because he's *famous*," he said darkly. "You know, the Boy Who Lived and all that shit - honestly, it's only because of his fame that he's getting all these special honours. If Lily Potter hadn't sacrificed her life to save her son and if your father hadn't been stripped of his powers when the curse rebounded, I doubt that Potter would even be alive today. By the way, are you eating this?" He gestured at the plate of food.  
  
"Take it, I'm not hungry," answered Kristalyn.  
  
Draco nodded and cut himself a piece of beef. "Thanks," he said. "I'm really starving. Quidditch practice went on much longer than necessary today. First match two weeks from now, so we want to be in tiptop shape, you know. Slytherin versus Ravenclaw.just too bad it isn't Gryffindor, we'd steamroller over the whole lot so fast Potter and his gang of goody-two- shoes wouldn't know what hit them."  
  
"I'd better make sure I'm there to see all that," said Kristalyn. "I'd love to see Potter and his bunch of cronies get their comeuppance for beating us last year." She spooned some steamed buttered vegetables onto Draco's plate. "You'd better keep up your strength - you've still got that six-foot- long essay to finish for History of Magic that's due tomorrow, so you can't afford to go to sleep just yet."  
  
Draco groaned. "Don't remind me."  
  
Kristalyn watched Draco eat for a while, though her appetite didn't return. Then she gazed around the Great Hall, which was slowly emptying. Many of the students were returning to their house common rooms while others lingered on in the Hall for a chat with friends from other houses. Kristalyn looked at everything with narrowed eyes and a bored expression on her face.  
  
Hogwarts is really very dull, she decided silently. There is absolutely nothing to do in the whole school after dark.  
  
"Feeling bored, Kristalyn?" asked Draco suddenly.  
  
Kristalyn flicked her gaze over to him. "Am I ever not?" she responded dryly.  
  
"Maybe this will cheer you up," said Draco. "I forgot about it until just now." He rummaged about in his robes pockets for a bit then pulled out a yellow parchment envelope. "This letter came for you in the afternoon post, while you were in the library. I wanted to give it to you sooner but you didn't come back before I had to go for Quidditch practice." He held the envelope out to her. "Here."  
  
Kristalyn took the envelope and looked at the handwriting. Then she smiled - she could recognise her father's neat print from anywhere. She ripped open the envelope eagerly and skimmed through the contents quickly, registering every word. It read:  
  
My dearest Kristalyn,  
  
As soon as you have read this letter, I want you to destroy it and leave not a single shred of paper left behind, for if it was discovered, not only will all my plans go down the drain, but you will also be in so much trouble I cannot bear to think about it. Yes, even the great Lord Voldemort has his weakness and that one weakness is his own flesh and blood, though bear in mind that this is not to be mentioned to anyone, or else all is lost.  
  
There is some good news for you, my dear - my army of destruction is ready and it won't be long before I finally start on my mission to dominate the world. However, there is a slight problem in my plans that has to be dealt with and I'm afraid the solution lies within you.  
  
It will take too long to explain everything in a letter, so this is what I'm proposing. I am now around the outskirts of Hogsmeade, but don't worry, I am well hidden and I have my wand with me. But I must meet with you, face to face, Kristalyn. So read this carefully: Tonight, when it is close to two in the morning, I will be among the shadows in the Forbidden Forest. I need you to sneak out and meet me here. It is a grave matter of importance that we need to discuss and as we are running out of time, it is also a matter of urgency as well, so try your best to come and meet me in the Forest. Use your Invisibility Cloak, the one your mother left you, it will help.  
  
Remember: DESTROY THIS LETTER AS SOON AS YOU'VE READ IT.  
  
Hoping to see you later,  
  
Your father,  
  
Tom Riddle.  
  
Kristalyn read the note again, then stuffed it into her pocket - she would destroy it as soon as she was away from the Great Hall. She checked her watch - it was only half-past eight, a good five and a half hours before she was due to meet her father in the Forbidden Forest, which was situated on the grounds of the school. She decided to take a short nap before she went to see Lord Voldemort, so she quickly gathered her things and said goodbye to Draco. He waved at her distractedly - he was too busy munching on a large piece of apple pie and cream - and Kristalyn walked quickly out of the Hall, making a beeline for her bedroom at the top of one of the tallest towers. As Head Girl of the school, she had been granted many special privileges, among them the luxury of a large bedroom all to herself, with an attached bathroom and adjoining dressing room. She liked her room, and it was a blessing to be away from the four girls who had been her dormitory mates for the past six years, but there was a slight annoyance - her room was situated just across the hall from Harry's, who, as Head Boy, also shared the same privileges as she did.  
  
Hoping that she didn't run into anybody, especially Harry, she raced for her bedroom and shut the door with great relief the moment she entered. Then, catching her breath, she locked the door and went to the bathroom, where she ripped up the note from her father and chucked it into the sink, where she set it on fire with her wand. The pieces of paper burned until there was nothing left and then Kristalyn washed the sink, making sure no blackened remains were left behind.  
  
"Thank God," she whispered as she collapsed onto her king-sized mahogany canopy bed. "The last thing I want in the world is having my father's plans ruined by my stupidity." She snuggled deeper into her pillows. "I wonder what Dad has to say to me tonight. I hope it's not anything too horrid."  
  
Her voice trailed off as she fell into a quiet slumber.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Kristalyn woke up with a start to a pitch-black and silent room, where the only sound that could be heard was the hooting of the few owls outside her windows. Yawning, she stretched her arms above her head and turned on one of her bedside lamps. Then she glanced at her watch - fifteen minutes past one o'clock in the morning. She climbed out of bed and walked over to her dressing room, where all her clothes and accessories were kept. If she was going to meet her father at two, she had better hustle and change into something that could camouflage her in the dark of the Forest - her uniform stood out too much, even in the night. She quickly pulled off her grey school uniform and wizard robes, chucked them into the laundry hamper, and then changed into a pair of black slacks and a thick black sweater. She pulled her long hair into a low ponytail and then covered her head with the hood of a long black woollen cloak.  
  
She glanced at her reflection in the mirror - hopefully, what she was wearing would be able to hide her in the dark. She opened one of the dresser drawers and yanked out a long, silky cloak that looked as though it was made of nothing but wind and water. It was her Invisibility Cloak, one of the few things that she inherited from her mother, who had long since passed away. The Cloak was a very helpful tool for rule-breaking and sneaking out in the middle of the night was indeed a school offence.  
  
Kristalyn folded the Cloak over one arm and made her way to the door. She knew that as Head Girl she should be setting a good example for the younger students and that she shouldn't be sneaking out, but her father had something very important to discuss with her and Kristalyn knew that if her father said it was important, he really did mean it as such - there was no point arguing with him on that.  
  
She paused just behind the door, thinking things through once more. She had to meet her father - she couldn't remember the last time she had denied a request of his. Yet, if she was caught, she was liable to lose her position of Head Girl, and to Hermione Granger, no less. She knew that, if anything, the only reason why she had been given such a high authority position was so that the Hogwarts faculty could have an easier time keeping guard over her. But even so, Kristalyn was not about ready to give up Head Girl, especially not to a Mudblood - her father had been Head Boy when he was at Hogwarts, and she wanted to follow in his footsteps, even if it did mean having to listen to the orders of the staff and Headmaster.  
  
She drew a deep breath - oh, what was she so worried about? She had her Invisibility Cloak; she wasn't likely to get caught unless someone out there had a magical eye like Mad-Eye Moody, her Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher back in her fourth year. As far as she knew, no one in the school had such a thing and even if they did, it was likely that no one would be awake at that ungodly hour of the night.  
  
Taking another deep breath, she wrapped her hand around the shiny gold doorknob and pulled open the door. The hallway was empty, just as she figured it would be. Kristalyn shut the door quietly after her and tiptoed over to Harry's room, leaning an ear against the door to make sure he was asleep. When she could only the sounds of his peaceful breathing, she nodded in satisfaction and slung her Invisibility Cloak around her body and over her head, disappearing completely from view. Then she walked as silently as she could down the winding staircase and into the darkened, deserted passageways of the school.  
  
It felt strange to be wandering around the school in the middle of the night, but Kristalyn was used to the feeling - she had often strolled through the corridors of Hogwarts under her Invisibility Cloak late at night, when she knew no one was awake, during her earlier years at Hogwarts. Then, when she became a Prefect, some of her duties were to patrol the grounds at night to make sure no student was hanging about and her Cloak had remained safely hidden in the bottom drawer of her bureau. Kristalyn liked night-time strolls - she felt it was the only time she had complete peace and silence around her. She never patrolled with a partner, preferring to do her duties alone and unaccompanied, unlike many of the other Prefects. She knew Harry, Hermione and Ron were always doing their Prefect duties together, but Kristalyn was a loner and preferred solitude to socialising; besides, rounding the school alone allowed her a lot of quality time for herself and gave her a chance to think.  
  
Kristalyn checked her watch - ten minutes to two; her father probably had arrived by now. She picked up her pace, making sure that her footsteps did not make much noise on the stone floors. Her father was a stickler for time, even though he was a very patient man, and he didn't like it if people were late in meeting with him. It was a quality she had inherited from him - although she was blessed with a vast amount of patience, Kristalyn still liked things to run like clockwork and on time, for punctuality was an important matter to her. She knew many people in the school thought of punctuality as useless, but she was different from all of them - she didn't like to be kept waiting, because it wasted her time.  
  
She finally reached the Entrance Hall, which was just as deserted as the rest of the school. She made her way down the marble staircase, glanced at her watch again and then slowly pulled the great oak doors open to a small crack. She squeezed through the tiny opening and shut the doors behind her quietly. Then she ran down the stone steps and across the grounds towards the Forbidden Forest, which stood not too far away, just behind the wooden hut of Rubeus Hagrid, the half-giant who was Hogwarts gamekeeper and the teacher of the Care of Magical Creatures class. She knew her father never waited along the borders of the Forbidden Forest, for it was too risky - he could get caught if anyone saw him. So he waited deeper in the Forest, where the trees were thicker and no light shone from the moon through the overhead leaves.  
  
After making sure she wasn't being followed and there was no one around, Kristalyn pulled off her Invisibility Cloak - she wouldn't need it in the Forest - and followed an old trail that would lead her to where her father was waiting. She had her wand firmly gripped in her hand; the Forest was home to many creatures and beasts, some of which were friendly and all right, but there were quite a few that were fierce and dangerous. That was why it was called the *Forbidden* Forest - no Hogwarts student was allowed to go in there, unless accompanied by a teacher and even that only happened in very special circumstances.  
  
Ten minutes later, Kristalyn knew she was drawing nearer to her father's hiding place, for the trees now grew closer together and there was no more moonlight. She lifted her wand higher, muttered a clever little charm under her breath, and soon a glowing yellow light poured out of the end of her wand. She used it to find her way over the protruding tree roots - the trail had ended somewhere back there - and she headed for the small clearing she saw in between the many tree trunks.  
  
"Father?" she called softly, when she reached the clearing.  
  
A tall, hooded figure appeared from behind a thick oak tree; Kristalyn did not need him to lift his hood to know that it was her father. She walked over to him, carefully stepping over the dead leaves and twigs scattered in her way. They stood facing each other, three feet apart, neither one of them lifting their hood, neither one of them making any move to greet each other in any other way besides speech. There was silence for a while, the only sounds heard coming from the crickets in the far distance. Finally, Lord Voldemort cleared his throat and took just one step forward.  
  
"Hello, Kristalyn," he greeted softly. "You seem well and healthy."  
  
"I am all that," agreed Kristalyn. "You have accustomed to your new body all right, I see."  
  
Voldemort nodded. "Yes. I am thankful I made myself younger, for it would be easier for all of my enemies to defeat me if I remained in that old body of mine." He paused for a while. "The old Mudblood lover still putting you under heavy guard, Kristalyn?"  
  
"And then some," replied Kristalyn. "But do not worry, I shall overcome it - Dumbledore has yet to succumb me, and I have no intention of letting him do that." She gazed into the hidden face of her father; taller than the average girl, she was only one or two inches shorter than Voldemort. "Now, what is it that you wanted to discuss with me? You said it was a matter of grave importance."  
  
"Yes, it is," answered Voldemort. He glanced around. "I trust you destroyed the letter I sent you?"  
  
"No one followed me," assured Kristalyn. "I burned it as soon as I could."  
  
"Well done," said Voldemort. "Well, I shall not beat around the bush. As you know, my army is ready to attack - everything is prepared, and we are ready to destroy the wizard gaol, Azkaban, and set free all those who were loyal to me. We are also ready to recruit the dreaded Azkaban guards, the Dementors, into my army. They are one of my most dangerous and feared allies, and they will be of great help in my plans to control both the wizarding and Muggle world."  
  
"Yes, you told me all of that before," said Kristalyn.  
  
"Indeed I have. However, there is one problem.more of an irritation, actually, but it has to be solved as soon as possible," said Voldemort. "This.irritation, as I would like to put it.has to be dealt with, or else everything that I have planned for the past two years will be of no use."  
  
"Dumbledore," speculated Kristalyn.  
  
"No, Dumbledore is a pest, but I can handle him," said Voldemort. "No, this irritation that I am talking about is actually a student in your school, someone I am very sure you know quite well, for he has been a thorn in both our sides for quite a long time now."  
  
"Potter," said Kristalyn.  
  
"That's right," said Voldemort. "Harry Potter, the reason for my downfall."  
  
"Well, how do you plan on getting him out of the way?" asked Kristalyn.  
  
"There were many ideas, many kinds of solutions," replied Voldemort. "However, there was only one solution that struck in my mind as the most effective, but that one solution, unfortunately, concerns you, I'm afraid. You are the only one who can pull it off successfully."  
  
"What do I have to do?" said Kristalyn.  
  
"I need you to help me destroy Harry Potter," said Voldemort.  
  
* * * * *  
  
For the rest of the night, Kristalyn could not go back to sleep - her mind kept on going round in circles. She never returned to her bedroom after her meeting with her father; she was too full of emotions to even think straight. So, instead of heading for the tower where her room was, Kristalyn headed in the opposite direction and down a long corridor until she reached the Prefects' Lounge, which was hidden behind a large portrait of the Hogwarts school emblem with the gold Gryffindor lion, the silver Slytherin snake, the bronze Ravenclaw eagle and the black Hufflepuff badger. The four animals, like practically every portrait and painting in the wizarding world, were moving in their picture frame - the lion was pacing up and down, growling; the snake was coiling itself up and hissing; the eagle soared around impatiently and screeched; and the badger was padding across the crest silently. After a moment, the lion turned its head towards Kristalyn, its deep brown eyes resting on her familiar face.  
  
"Password?" it asked in a gruff, furry sort of voice.  
  
"Valour," responded Kristalyn, and the portrait swung forward, revealing a low, delicately chiselled archway behind it. She walked through the archway and the portrait immediately swung shut behind her. The Prefects' Lounge was heavily guarded by the four animated animals in the portrait and the password was changed daily to prevent unknown persons from trespassing.  
  
The Lounge was more or less like the common rooms of the four Hogwarts houses, only smaller and cosier. There was the usual enormous fireplace along one of the walls, with its intricately carved mantelpiece and a warm, welcoming fire already blazing behind the grate. There were several armchairs, desks and sofas placed all over the polished wooden floor and rugs in the colours of the four Houses were strewn here and there as decorations. At a corner of the lounge was an antique gramophone, which was connected to the Wizarding Wireless Network while long velvet drapes covered the glass picture windows that overlooked the school grounds below. Hanging on the wall opposite the fireplace were four long banners, each in the colour and with the crest of the four Houses. They were Portkeys, which transported the individual Prefects to their own house common rooms the minute they say the password while touching the banner. Not too far away from the banners were two shiny silver links that were twisted into the letters HB and HG placed above two wooden doors. Those two doors led to the studies of the Head Boy and Head Girl of Hogwarts and were only accessible by two silver keys that only the Head Students could keep. Even the keys were enchanted to make sure nobody else got their hands on them. If a student besides the Head Boy and Head Girl of Hogwarts got a hold of that key, it would disappear in a puff of smoke and instantly reappear in the pocket of the Head Boy or the Head Girl. This was because there were certain items in the studies of the two Head Students that were not allowed to be seen by anyone else apart from the teachers and the Prefects. There was a Portkey in each of the studies as well, which transported the Head Girl and Head Boy to their own respective bedrooms, just like the Portkeys in the Lounge, so that they need not take the long way back to their tower.  
  
The Lounge was empty, but Kristalyn expected it to be anyway at half-past three in the morning. She strode past the fireplace and headed straight for the door that led to her study, which was situated at the top of a tower just like her bedroom. She pulled out her key from her cloak pocket and stuck it into the doorknob, giving it a twist and unlocking the door. She stuffed the key back into her pocket, shut the door behind her and climbed the staircase to her study.  
  
The study was cold, but Kristalyn pointed her wand at the fireplace and soon a fire started to roar behind the grate, warming the room immediately. Then she walked over to her desk and sat down behind it, pushing a pile of parchment aside as she conjured up a silver tray that bore a steaming pot of hot coffee and a large mug. Kristalyn poured out some of the coffee into the mug and took a long swallow, using the tips of her fingers to massage her temple as she whirled the desk chair around to face the windows. As she gazed out into the night sky, her mind rewound to her meeting with her father.  
  
[flashback]  
  
"I need you to help me destroy Harry Potter," said Voldemort.  
  
Kristalyn did a double-take. "Destroy, Father? What do you mean by destroy?"  
  
"Exactly what I meant when I said I wanted to destroy the Ministry of Magic," answered Voldemort. "I want to make Harry Potter's life a living hell, I want to make him suffer as much as I did during the years after that curse rebounded upon me. And the only way I could possibly do that is through you, as you will have the easiest access to his life, since you are also studying at Hogwarts."  
  
Kristalyn started to worry. Oh, she hated Harry Potter, all right, but she wasn't about to really kill him, if that's what her father was thinking about. Sure, she had often thought of killing Harry herself, but those were just thoughts - she never really meant them. But as she stood there, looking at her father, her worry slowly faded away - no, she was blowing this way out of proportion. Her father couldn't possibly want Harry dead, not when there were so many more worse ways to destroy a person rather than merely killing them. In many of those cases, death would be a more welcoming and merciful prospect.  
  
"So how exactly am I going to help you in all this, Father?" asked Kristalyn.  
  
"Simple," replied Voldemort. "All I want you to do is make Harry Potter fall madly in love with you."  
  
Kristalyn almost had a heart attack. "What?" she exclaimed.  
  
"I know it will be hard for you to think of Potter as an admirer of yours," said Voldemort hastily, in an attempt to try and soothe her over, "and quite frankly, I myself would not like it if Potter does fall for you. But I need you to do exactly that - I need you to make Potter fall madly, deeply, wildly in love with you."  
  
"And just how am I suppose to pull that off?" demanded Kristalyn.  
  
"Kristalyn, from what I have been hearing, all you have to do is show some boy you're interested - a few smiles, a long look." there was an amused smile in Voldemort's voice, ".and he's in the bag."  
  
"What exactly is your point, Father?"  
  
"So, winning over Harry Potter's heart should be easy for you."  
  
Kristalyn frowned. "You know, Father, I hate to break this to you, but the boys I can easily charm are complete idiots. Potter's not like that - he's inherited his father's brains and he's more intelligent than half the school combined. He'll never be dumb enough to fall for my tricks. Besides, he's not exactly single, either - he's got that little girlfriend of his, Ginny Weasley. What am I suppose to do about her? And, in case you haven't noticed, Father, Potter and I don't exactly get along very well. In fact, we downright hate each other. If you put us alone together in an empty room, it's likely that one of us would wind up killing the other."  
  
"I know that you and Potter have not always seen eye-to-eye," began Voldemort slowly.  
  
"Have not always? Father, we have never seen eye-to-eye!" interrupted Kristalyn.  
  
"But you're my daughter and I know that you will find a way to get past all those barriers," went on Voldemort, continuing as though Kristalyn had never said anything. "As for that Weasley girl, why don't you get young Mr Malfoy to help you with her? Lucius Malfoy\'s son will be able to seduce her and charm her away from her boyfriend, as you young ones put it, and that will leave Potter free for your taking."  
  
"Father," said Kristalyn weakly, "you're asking for the impossible."  
  
"You are Kristalyn Gabrielle Riddle, daughter to the greatest dark wizard in history!" Voldemort told her. "Nothing is impossible for you, do you understand? Nothing! I need you to do as I say, child - it is a matter of importance and urgency. Potter is the only one standing in the way of my plans."  
  
"Look, let's say that by some miracle, I actually succeed in getting Potter to love me," said Kristalyn. "What then? How is getting that champion of Mudbloods to fall in love with me connected to destroying him? I have never heard of such a strategy before in my entire life."  
  
"Just complete that task first, Kristalyn," said Voldemort mysteriously. "And I'll handle the rest."  
  
[end flashback]  
  
Kristalyn sighed and took another swallow of coffee - how was she ever going to accomplish such a task? Even the thought of Harry was enough to make her cringe; now, the very idea of making her worst enemy fall madly in love with her was making her feel like hurling. But she could not go against her father's orders - he had been adamant in telling her that making Harry fall for her was the best solution there was to getting him out of the picture. Kristalyn still did not see how this was going to make any difference in the situation, but she knew better than to press her father for more details.  
  
She turned away from the window and rested her chin on her hands. She had to do it, there was no other alternative - her father was beyond reasoning.she *had* to make Harry Potter fall in love with her, no questions asked. She groaned and covered her face with her hands.  
  
How am I ever going to pull it off? she thought. 


End file.
